Oh man, I'm upset. I just discovered Natasha's been peeing by the front door. I was so hoping this habit was a thing of the past. I'm still humiliated by the comments from the landlord at our old apartment who chided us for the horrible smell of cat urine we left behind. She kept repeating how disgusting it was, and I wanted to die of embarrassment.
Understand, please: we went to tremendous lengths to stop the problem, and failing that, to control it. We cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned. We put plastic over the hallway where she used to pee, and put carpets over that, and she just pawed at them until she could get to her special spot. I can't tell you how much money we spent on "pet smell" products that claimed to mask or destroy the odor. They didn't stop Natasha for more than a week.
I've taken her to the vet twice trying to figure out what's causing the urinating. The first doctor gave her six months to live, and claimed her kidneys were failing. She's still here two years later, no different than she was then, and she's not urinating randomly, just certain places over and over.
The second doctor said it was probably psychological, and recommended we change our cat litter. We did. Several times. Now they use a sandy, clumping litter which is about twelve times the mess of ordinary gravel but is more attractive and natural. That helped a little. I got them a second box. Both cats used both boxes. I really thought the problem was solved.
I'm at my wit's end. There's not enough room physically for a second cat box here. I don't want to pull up all the carpets except as a last, expensive resort. But I can't face the humiliation, not to mention the sanitation and health issues, of a house smelling like cat pee. I won't be able to have people over, I won't be able to have a clean house, I won't enjoy my own home. And the worst part is I feel horribly guilty about her doing it, as though her pissing inappropriately is a direct result of something I'm doing or not doing for her.
Bad enough that my dog will no longer come in the house. Now my cat's acting like she has issues. The only one who's no trouble at all is Keiko. I love my pets dearly, but tonight I feel like a bad, loser mom. Most of all, I don't think I can face another 10 years of cat pee. Natasha's only seven. This could go on for a long, long time.
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